VTA has long relied on sales taxes, not fares, to fund its operations. San José’s Mayor says this should be a wake-up call for the agency to generate more money from fares.

U.S. national men’s team soccer fans walk toward the San Francisco Bay Area stadium for the FIFA World Cup game between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California, on July 1, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Despite record-breaking ridership shuttling passengers to recent World Cup matches, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) netted only about $1 per passenger, according to new data shared by the agency. 

Officials announced last week that VTA transported nearly 230,000 passengers to and from Levi’s Stadium over the six matches that took place between mid-June and July 1, setting an all-time special event ridership record. But the estimated fare revenue was just over $238,000.

If all the fans taking those 230,000 trips paid a $2.50 single adult fare each time, VTA would have made an additional $336,000 — though that amount could have been diminished by senior and youth rider discounts, as well as free transfers, event promotions and other discounts.

San José Mayor Matt Mahan told KQED on Tuesday that “the agency needs to do better” in farebox recovery and fare enforcement.

Mayor Matt Mahan gives his opening speech at the World Cup flag-raising ceremony at San José City Hall in San José on May 12, 2026.

“ I think this should be a wake-up call,” said Mahan, who has long been critical of VTA’s reliance on sales taxes, and not fares, to fund operations. “ The actual fare enforcement and the level of revenue collection could have and should have been better.”

The revenue figures, requested by KQED, come as voters in Santa Clara County and four other counties in the Bay Area will be asked to approve an additional sales tax this November, in order to fund operations at VTA and other major Bay Area transit agencies, as the agencies struggle to overcome pandemic-related drops in revenue and ridership. 

VTA is facing a nearly $900,000 budget deficit for the current fiscal year, which is projected to increase to $15 million by fiscal year 2027, and continue to worsen in the following years.

A bus drives by FIFA World Cup signage on June 12, 2026, in San José.

VTA is a proof-of-payment system, which relies on riders to pay when they board, and on random checks by fare inspectors to enforce fare policy. Mahan said BART’s model isn’t necessarily replicable for the VTA’s light rail and buses, but the agency could improve fare collection by making paying for transit quicker, more intuitive and reliable. 

“ I strongly push back on the logic that because we have public revenues, we shouldn’t take farebox recovery and revenue generation seriously,” Mahan said. 

He added he thought it was also important to keep fares at a “reasonable level,” in order to keep them less expensive than the cost of owning a car in Santa Clara County. 

U.S. national men’s team soccer fans walk toward the San Francisco Bay Area stadium for the FIFA World Cup game between the USA and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California, on July 1, 2026.

Hendler Ross said VTA currently employs just six fare inspectors and has had a shortage of fare inspectors for “a long time.” She said the agency is currently training 10 transit security officers, whose responsibilities include checking fares, and plans to hire an additional nine to 10 officers sometime later this fall. 

The proposed transit tax heading to the November ballot would help VTA offer better, more frequent service, she said, adding it would also help the “greater good.”

“ If I never drive on Highway 280, I’m still paying taxes that keep that road working,” she said. “ You never know when someone’s gonna need to hop on public transit. So we’re talking about supporting the greater good, and that’s what this country has always been built on.”